Defrosting meats in the microwave is the fastest way but usually cooks the edges of the meat.

Also, since it raises the temperature of the meat into the danger zone for the growth of bacteria (40 to 140F), you should plan on cooking microwave defrosted meats right away. If you defrost meat in the microwave then set it aside, harmful bacteria could grow.

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"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." -Carl Sagan

My microwave (Panasonic) has a wonderful, efficient, & (I feel) completely safe defrost program. While I never defrost large items like whole poultry, etc. (just boneless, skinless poultry pieces, sausages, & ground poultry), what I do defrost in this appliance is always still cold to the touch, with none of those hot, cooked edges that some microwaves produce.

However, I also do only use my microwave to defrost items I am going to cook right then & there or within a few hours. I don't see any reason to use the microwave to defrost something you don't plan on cooking right away.

However, I also do only use my microwave to defrost items I am going to cook right then & there or within a few hours. I don't see any reason to use the microwave to defrost something you don't plan on cooking right away.

This makes a lot of sense. If you plan on marinating something its always best to beging planning that a few days in advance.

Michael and/or Vera... What's wrong with defrosting meat in the microwave? I have a defrosting programme on my microwave and I use it all the time because I was told it's the safest way to defrost "dangerous" (poultry, meat,fish,...) food items. You got me worried now

Hi Hades

The problems with microwave defrosting is that the microwave really doesn't know what it's defrosting. Sure, there are panels and numbers to punch with weights and times, but still, it's extremely black and white. It cannot tell if the meat is thicker on one side, or if it's sitting on styrofoam, or if bones are involved, etc.
Instead, what can(and does ) happen is that someone can press those buttons and simply walk away, letting a blind appliance do a dangerous job. Meat or poultry should defrost evenly to keep the temperature below 40 degrees at all times.
Cool or cold to the touch is not necessarily 40 degrees. Once meat is defrosted you begin a countdown, regardless if it's in the fridge or not. Defrosted meat has a life expectancy in the fridge, and an even shorter life out of the fridge.

Defrosting in the microwave is a convenience and should only be used that way.(Yeah, I know no one wants to hear that.) Since there is a great propensity for some of the microwave defrosted meat to be higher in temperature than other parts, it's imperative that you bring the whole thing up to a proper cooked temperature as quickly as possible. That doesn't necessarily mean 140, either. 140 is only the holding temperture of cooked food. It first has to reach the cooked temperature first.

There are three acceptable ways to defrost food according to my certification. Some have conditions.

1. Defrost in the refrigerator
2. Defrost under running water. Running water is the operative word. If the water cannot continually run, it must be changed every half hour.
3. Microwave. The defrosted product must be cooked immediately upon removing it from the appliance.

The first example is the safest and preferred method. They are listed in order of safety after that.

I know many people defrost on the counter, or in the mic, and say "I always do it this way, and I'm just fine'. The way I look at it...I wear a seat belt even though I'm a good driver. I see the risks as similar, plus the defrost example also puts others in possible danger.

At the end of the day, my preference is to buy meat or poultry, keep it in the fridge, and then use it within a day or two. I no longer store meat in my freezer.

Put it in a sink full of cold water.
Once it is defrosted, cook it. :D

If thawing in the sink(on the fly thaw), you need to have the water constantly moving, not sitting in a pool. This is because if it is parked, it will act like an ice cube and chill the standing water....but on another note, it is just bad practice due to the lag and log phase of growth.

Thawing in the refer is always the optimum way to go. Alot of other ways can breed contamination(like the sitting in a sink full of water) and can harm you. It is standard practice to thaw in the refer prior to attempting any other method. Large scale F&B operations have whole entire walkins dedicated to nothing more then thawing before production.